[FPSPACE] Columbia report released...about the astronauts

[Robert Pearlman]

To quote the report released today:

The launch and entry suit was added in response to the Challenger  
accident, rather than as a part of the original vehicle design. The  
ACES was the successor to that suit. The suit protects the crew in  
many scenarios; however, there are several areas where integration  
difficulties diminish the capability of the suit to protect the crew.  
Integration issues include: the crew cannot keep their visors down  
throughout entry because doing so results in high oxygen  
concentrations in the cabin; gloves can inhibit the performance of  
nominal tasks; and the cabin stow/deorbit preparation timeframe is so  
busy that sometimes crew members do not have enough time to complete  
suit-related steps prior to atmospheric entry.

-- 
Robert Pearlman, Editor
collectSPACE - The Source for Space History & Artifacts
http://www.collectspace.com/

On Dec 30, 2008, at 3:29 PM, MattWriter at aol.com wrote:

> I apologize for not having my copy of the CAIB report handy, since  
> they may have dealt with this, but why didn't NASA, in the post- 
> Challenger (when the ACES suit was added) or post-Columbia mods,  
> require the suits to be sealed and pressurized, with independent  
> oxygen systems on, during every reentry? I know all engineering  
> changes on a complex spacecraft are significant, but it does not  
> seem too challenging to add a 60-minute O2 bottle to each seat.  The  
> crew would still have their PEAPs as emergency backups.  I know the  
> CAIB said pressure suits would not have saved the crew given the  
> altitude and velocity of the shuttle when it depressurized, but  
> there are certainly scenarios where they could.
>
> Matt Bille
> Freelance science/space writer
> http://mattbille.blogspot.com
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